Indian grandmaster G.N. Gopal has taken the sole lead at the 29th Open International Bavarian Chess Championship in Gmund am Tegernsee. The nine-round Swiss tournament, which runs from 31 October to 8 November. Following a fifth round that left six players tied for first place on 4½/5 points, Thursday's sixth round saw Gopal move ahead of the field with 5½ points. Twelve players are now half a point behind the leader.
Gopal secured his fifth victory of the tournament by defeating 15-year-old German IM Hussain Besou, who had joined the leading group the previous day with a win over former world junior champion Peter Acs.
Playing with the black pieces, Besou struggled to find sufficient space for his pieces and gradually came under pressure on the kingside. His defeat ended a run of 15 tournament games without a loss and considerably reduced his chances of obtaining a GM norm in this event. Gopal, meanwhile, has only conceded one draw so far, against fellow Indian GM Krishnan Sasikiran in round five.
The 37-year-old leader, who hails from Kerala in southern India, became his state's first GM in 2007, aged 18. He is no stranger to the tournament at Tegernsee, having finished fourth in the 2023 edition with 7/9 points. His performance rating after six rounds stands at 2734.
G.N. Gopal facing Husain Besou | Photo: Sandra Schmidt
Most of the other encounters between the leading players ended peacefully. Kacper Piorun and Rithvik R Raja agreed to a draw after just 13 moves, while Sasikiran and Emre Can also split the point following a symmetrical game. Nijat Abasov and Sohum Lohia repeated moves to draw after 19 moves, leaving all six players on 5/6 points.
Top seed Frederik Svane, meanwhile, collected a full point against Polish IM Klaudia Kulon, the highest-rated woman in the field. Playing white, Svane obtained a slightly favourable position from a Colle-Zukertort setup before his opponent weakened her kingside on moves 18 and 19. The German GM took advantage of the resulting vulnerabilities to secure his fifth point.
Third seed Alexander Donchenko was less successful against IM Gerlef Meins, who defended an approximately equal rook endgame to hold a draw. Donchenko thus remains on 4½/6.
In the women's standings, Kulon's defeat allowed several competitors to catch up with her on 4/6 points, including Svenja Butenandt and Kateryna Dolzhykova.
Kacper Piorun from Poland and Raja Rithvik R from India signed a quick draw on the top board | Photo: Sandra Schmidt
Frederik Svane defeated Klaudia Kulon | Photo: Sandra Schmidt
| Rk. | Name | RtgI | Pts. | TB1 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM | Gopal, G.N. | 2530 | 5,5 | 2379 | |
| 2 | GM | Raja, Rithvik R | 2519 | 5 | 2412 | |
| 3 | GM | Sasikiran, Krishnan | 2520 | 5 | 2391 | |
| 4 | GM | Svane, Frederik | 2662 | 5 | 2375 | |
| 5 | GM | Can, Emre | 2528 | 5 | 2362 | |
| 6 | GM | Piorun, Kacper | 2532 | 5 | 2336 | |
| 7 | IM | Park, Evan | 2452 | 5 | 2315 | |
| 8 | GM | Vogel, Roven | 2514 | 5 | 2300 | |
| 9 | IM | Parvanyan, Ashot | 2411 | 5 | 2297 | |
| 10 | GM | Costa, Leonardo | 2555 | 5 | 2289 | |
| 11 | GM | Amar, Elham | 2567 | 5 | 2274 | |
| 12 | FM | Weishaeutel, Moritz | 2402 | 5 | 2244 | |
| 13 | IM | Gschnitzer, Adrian | 2419 | 5 | 2216 | |
| 14 | IM | Lohia, Sohum | 2381 | 4,5 | 2418 | |
| 15 | IM | Kilic, Eray | 2507 | 4,5 | 2404 | |
| 16 | GM | Abasov, Nijat | 2580 | 4,5 | 2389 | |
| 17 | GM | Donchenko, Alexander | 2610 | 4,5 | 2372 | |
| 18 | GM | Kazakouski, Valery | 2554 | 4,5 | 2346 | |
| 19 | IM | Besou, Hussain | 2429 | 4,5 | 2330 | |
| 20 | IM | Harsh, Suresh | 2459 | 4,5 | 2293 | |
| 21 | GM | Baldauf, Marco | 2435 | 4,5 | 2292 | |
| 22 | FM | Forchert, Martin | 2332 | 4,5 | 2291 | |
| 23 | GM | Santos Latasa, Jaime | 2626 | 4,5 | 2286 | |
| 24 | M, S Midilesh | 2144 | 4,5 | 2278 | ||
| 25 | GM | Acs, Peter | 2554 | 4,5 | 2266 |
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